Photo: Cushing and Benedict, Alma MI · Public domainHousehold incomes in Alma are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Alma; the top destination outside it is Mount Pleasant (7%, 16 miles). 21.7% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 13.2% for Michigan as a whole. The two grades for Alma are D for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Alma and work: the main findings
Alma is where the jobs are
Alma has 4,857 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Alma are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Alma
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Alma is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #655 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Alma’s grade up (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Alma could be anywhere from D to C.
How a workday changes Alma
On a workday 2,228 residents head out to work, 707 work right here, and 4,150 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Alma on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Alma: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alma workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,825 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Commuting in to Alma: where workers come from
Where Alma clocks in
7% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The 4,857 jobs based in Alma
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alma, 2011 → 2021: 5,122 → 4,857. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Alma
About 22% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Alma is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Alma is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #33 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 12.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 8.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,281 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.4% of Alma households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Alma’s commuters take a bus or train.
Alma and other U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Jamestown Township MI | 10,702 | $120K | 2.8% | 1.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,640 | North Adams MA | 12,368 | $48K | 18.6% | 5.0% | 28% | D |
| 2,641 | Lovington NM | 11,620 | $69K | 25.0% | 7.3% | 30% | D |
| 2,642 | Alma MI | 9,304 | $53K | 21.7% | 6.9% | 24% | D |
| 2,643 | Slippery Rock Township PA | 8,349 | $57K | 23.4% | 7.1% | 6% | D |
| 2,644 | Picayune MS | 12,019 | $41K | 20.6% | 6.0% | 23% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,867 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Alma, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work in the towns next to Alma
The biggest share goes to St. Louis (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | – | D | A | 19 min | $53,307 |
| Pine River Township | 3% | B− | C+ | 21 min | $71,073 |
| Arcada Township | under 2% | C+ | D | 22 min | $88,523 |
| St. Louis | 6% | C+ | C+ | 16 min | $51,167 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Alma’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Alma: questions
What is the median household income in Alma?
$53,307 (±$8,914) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alma?
21.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alma?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alma work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Pleasant (7%, 16 mi), St. Louis (6%, 3 mi), Ithaca (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Alma walkable?
Alma is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Alma without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alma
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.